Nick Saban

Anderson got in the defensive rotation this year and notched three sacks off the edge. He should get more playing time in 2015.

Dakota Ball: 3-star defensive tackle from Lindale, Georgia

Ball moved to tight end in the offseason and played in spurts during the season mostly as a blocker in run situations.

Denzel Devall: 4-star inside linebacker from Bastrop, Louisiana

Devall ended up playing outside linebacker, where he has contributed for three years without a lot of production. He has five career sacks and will return as one of the more experienced defenders in 2015.

Adam Griffith: 3-star kicker from Calhoun, Georgia

Griffith was Alabama’s starting kicker in 2014 and hit 12 of 19 as he battled a back injury. He’s most notable, though, for missing the field goal that wound up turning into the Kick Six in 2013.

Brandon Greene: 4-star offensive tackle from Ellenwood, Georgia

Greene played tight end in 2014 and was mostly used as a blocker. He caught a key pass as an eligible tackle in overtime against LSU that surprised nearly everyone watching.

Darren Lake: 3-star defensive tackle from York, Alabama

Lake has turned into a role player on the defensive line, especially in run situations, registering 23 career tackles.

Geno Smith: 4-star cornerback from Atlanta, Georgia

Smith made the switch to safety, playing mostly at Star and Money in Saban’s defense. A DUI before the 2013 season slowed his progress down some. He’s expected to start at free safety in 2015.

Alphonse Taylor: 4-star offensive tackle from Mobile, Alabama

Taylor played guard this year, starting two games in Leon Brown’s place at left guard. He will compete for that same role this offseason.

Dalvin Tomlinson: 4-star defensive tackle from McDonough, Georgia

Tomlinson is another role player on the defensive line, racking up 26 tackles and a sack in two years playing. A knee injury cut short a promising redshirt freshman season.

Updated UA commitment list after 3 commits are removed while waiting to make final decision http://t.co/GQLzXbA6E3 @BamaOnline247 @247Sports

— Tim Watts (@TimWatts_BOL) January 29, 2015

Most teams would panic at the thought of losing three commits in a day.

But most programs aren’t built like Alabama.

For starters, the Tide’s class has 23 commitments and it still ranks ahead of No. 2 Florida State by more than 22 points in the 247Sports team rankings.

Even if they don’t finish with any additions, their current group is still likely to be among the elite classes assembled in this cycle.

It’s awfully impressive batch of recruits, considering that 20 of the Tide’s 23 pledges have a 4-star ranking or higher. Included in that number are six 5-star prospects and eight total players ranked among the nation’s top 100 players overall.

Despite the loss of Prince, the Tide still have five offensive linemen committed—including 4-star standouts Lester Cotton and Richie Petitbon.

While losing two corners is a significant blow, the loss is mitigated by the Tide’s acquisition of top corners Tony Brown and Marlon Humphrey last year, along with the presence of 5-star corners Kendall Sheffield and Minkah Fitzpatrick, who committed in this cycle.

Also, considering how Saban and his staff have closed in recent years, don’t expect the Tide to be idle down the stretch.

If anything, the extra spots that have opened up make the Tide a bigger factor heading into a national signing day that may have otherwise been quiet.

Two years ago, the Tide pulled stud recruits such as Reuben Foster, A’Shawn Robinson and Alvin Kamara in the days leading up to national signing day.

Last year, linebacker Rashaan Evans chose the Tide over Auburn in a signing-day surprise.

Another note: CeCe Jefferson visited Alabama Friday on his way to Ole Miss and Sunday on his way back from Ole Miss.

— Jamey Barnes (@JBarnesALintel) January 26, 2015

This year, there are still a handful of top prospects still on the radar of Saban and his staff.

That isn’t a slight breeze you felt over the weekend when you stepped outside, it was Alabama quarterback Jake Coker.

Coker should be breathing a sigh of relief, after Alabama announced over the weekend that offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin will return for a second year in Tuscaloosa. Kiffin, now entering his second season with the Crimson Tide, had been mentioned as the front-runner for the same role with the San Francisco 49ers by ESPN.com.

“This time of year, there are lots of things out there regarding other coaching opportunities, but I want to reaffirm my commitment to the University of Alabama, Coach [Nick] Saban, and our team,” Saban said in a statement. “I’m excited about what our offensive staff was able to accomplish last year, but I also think there are a lot of things we can do a better job of in terms of putting our players in the best situation to have success.”

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Alabama QB Jake Coker

Coker is one of those players.

The rising senior for the Crimson Tide came to Alabama last summer after graduating from Florida State, and was expected to take over the No. 1 spot on the depth chart. Instead, Blake Sims took control and took Alabama to the SEC title and the inaugural College Football Playoff.

Coker, though, was in the mix to win first-team snaps as late as the third game of the 2014 season.

Of the quarterbacks vying for the starting job this season—Coker, Alec Morris, Cooper Bateman, David Cornwell and Blake Barnett—Coker is the most familiar with what Kiffin wants to do and what he expects from his quarterbacks.

A clean slate is the last thing that Coker needed. Last season’s battle that lasted into September gave him a head start on this offseason’s battle, and Kiffin’s return allows him to take full advantage.

“Our offense was extremely productive last season and we look forward to building on some of the good things we did on that side of the ball with this year’s team,” Saban said in Alabama’s statement.

What’s more, many of the receivers working with Coker this offseason will be players he’s familiar with.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Alabama QB Jake Coker

Alabama’s top three wide receivers from last season—Amari Cooper, DeAndrew White and Christion Jones—are all gone, as are running back T.J. Yeldon and three starting offensive linemen. For the most part, Coker will begin his quest to win the starting job at Alabama with a cast of characters he’s familiar with.

Cam Sims, ArDarius Stewart, Robert Foster and Chris Black were all able to build a rapport with Coker last season, and that familiarity should allow Coker to hit the ground running this offseason rather than adjusting on the fly, as he did last summer.

There’s no denying Coker‘s arm strength. Here’s Coker slinging it 60 yards with ease without warming up too much prior to the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game vs. West Virginia.

The question was whether or not he can play within an offense. Now that the offense won’t change, the things Kiffin taught him all offseason will be applicable to the current quarterback battle, and the experience he gained as a junior at the Capstone will benefit him as a senior.

He didn’t earn the chance to live up to what, in retrospect, was insurmountable hype in 2014.

Kiffin’s return allows him the chance to do it in 2015.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.

If you weren’t a believer that the Alabama dynasty ended when Chris Davis took a missed field goal back 109 yards to end last season’s Iron Bowl or Oklahoma wrecked shop in the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl, you should be now.

The Alabama dynasty is dead, and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer nailed the coffin shut.

The Buckeyes topped the Crimson Tide 42-35 in the 2015 Allstate Sugar Bowl national semifinal on Thursday night, ending head coach Nick Saban’s quest to win his fourth national title since 2009 and furthering the woeful performance by the SEC in bowl games this season (5-5).

Saban: “You don’t have to get a trophy to be a winner.” Is the Nicktator mellowing?

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 2, 2015

Meyer’s Buckeyes hit all of Alabama’s defensive weak spots in the game.

As was the case against Missouri, Auburn and pretty much every other game over the past two seasons, the Crimson Tide pass defense was lit up like a Christmas tree in obvious passing situations.

Third-string quarterback Cardale Jones completed 18 of 35 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception, with three of those completions coming in situations of third down and more than seven yards. According to ESPN’s postgame show, 153 of those yards came on third downs of any distance.

As SiriusXM’s Tim Brando notes, it wasn’t new, it was par for the course:

Alabama’s defense lacks the BIG TIME pass rusher, and lacks the shutdown corner they’ve had in the past. Buckeyes outplaying the Tide now!

— Tim Brando (@TimBrando) January 2, 2015

A running quarterback?

Yep, Jones checked that box too.

Meyer’s Buckeyes converted 10 of 18 third downs, with four of those coming via Jones’ ability to make plays on the ground. The sophomore from Cleveland rushed 17 times for 43 yards with a long of 27, and he was nearly unstoppable once he got to the second level.

Tempo?

It’s not like Ohio State was doing an Oregon impression out there, but it did run 50 plays in the first half, which contributed to its 14-point second-quarter charge.

Susceptibility to the deep pass, mobile quarterbacks and an emphasis wearing the defense down? Those have been the concerns for Alabama for two years, and until they’re consistently fixed, Alabama won’t get back to a level it enjoyed during the early days of the Crimson dynasty.

Football isn’t going to regress.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Alabama head coach Nick Saban

Those three factors have become very apparent for the past couple of years, and it’s not like offenses are going to slow down and quarterbacks are going to stop running and not test Bama deep now that its problems have been exposed on big stages in each of the past two seasons.

The four-year run from 2009-2012 that saw the Tide hoist three crystal footballs was impressive, but Saban knew he had to change. That’s why offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin was brought in last offseason, but the changes on defense have been a slower progression

As Brian Hamilton of Sports Illustrated noted before the game, it was defensive coordinator Kirby Smart who knew Alabama’s primary issues weren’t fixed:

#Alabama DC Kirby Smart on defending tempo: “We’ve exposed our guys to it this year more than ever. And we still haven’t done enough.”

— Brian Hamilton (@BrianHamiltonSI) December 28, 2014

A dynasty is considered a powerful group of people who maintain their position for a considerable period of time. That’s not Alabama. At least, not anymore.

Instead of being proactive, Alabama has turned into a reactive program. It is spinning its wheels. It has been forced to change its identity and hasn’t developed a new one yet.

Until that identity is fully developed, games like Thursday night’s Sugar Bowl loss are going to continue happening. There’s blood in the water, and the college football sharks are circling.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.

The Alabama Crimson Tide have been in perpetual national title contention in recent years, and head coach Nick Saban is the common variable.

In the inaugural College Football Playoff, Saban will lead Alabama in its bid for a third championship in four years. This win-or-go-home scenario that has a maximum of two games to play will commence as Alabama faces Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday.

If any team is cut out to notch two victories over the highest quality of adversaries, it’s one Saban commands.

Blue-chip players come and go, the coaching staff shuffles and the chemistry behind all the parts of the powerhouse program are reassembled. Saban keeps the Tide rolling.

The secret to Saban’s immense success is quite well-known among college football followers. Allow this 60 Minutes tweet to do the explaining:

Saban is up against Urban Meyer and then the winner of Jimbo Fisher and Mark Helfrich if he gets past the Buckeyes. No one from that trio is a slouch, but there is no denying the consistent, elite results Saban has achieved.

John Middlekauff of Comcast SportsNet opines that Saban has actually created a proliferation in competition for the Southeastern Conference:

Listen I’m not disputing the SEC hasn’t been the best over the last 7/8 years. My point is Saban took it to another level

— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) January 1, 2015

What makes Saban so unique is how he handles in-game situations with “The Process.” Ever the perfectionist, Saban will ride his players harder than ever when everything appears to be going swimmingly.

It’s when the Tide are in their lowest moments that Saban is the most encouraging. There’s never any panic from the Alabama sidelines in the rare instances in which the Tide trail. This type of composed, collective cool is of paramount importance amid the unprecedented playoff atmosphere.

And though it’s cliche to say Thursday’s Sugar Bowl is “just another game,” don’t expect any different mentality from Saban or his players. That’s reflected in Saban’s comments before the game, as reported by TheAnniston Star‘s Marq Burnett:

I sort of look at this a little bit like when you’re in the NFL playoffs. You have a game this week. It’s the only game that matters only because if you don’t play well in that particular game and don’t have success in that game, you don’t get to play the next game. And that’s kind of how our focus and approach has been with this game.

Digesting the macro implications of making history and getting a win in this new postseason format may be daunting for most to consider.

By focusing so intensely on the macro and imploring players to do their job, Saban subtracts distractions that can come with the tremendous expectations and scrutiny from playing under his watch.

When the Tide lost at Ole Miss in October, there wasn’t any sort of deviation from the norm. There was just a steadfast dedication by Saban to the status quo—which involves winning at an historic rate as a byproduct of The Process.

Regardless of how the maiden College Football Playoff voyage plays out, that Alabama is a part of it after an early-season defeat and managed to ascend to No. 1 and win the SEC again are outstanding accomplishments as is.

As long as Saban is at the helm, the Tide figure to be a factor in these playoffs for years to come because his fascinating approach to the art of coaching will keep landing them back to the precipice of greatness.

After putting up a 42-21 beatdown of Florida early in the 2014 season, it doesn’t have to see the Gators again until 2021 because of new SEC scheduling protocols with an eight-game conference schedule.

With the Florida of recent history, that would seem to be a team you would like to face regularly. Not anymore.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

The Gators announced the hiring of Jim McElwain, a former Nick Saban offensive coordinator, as their newest head coach. If McElwain’s past is any indication, he should have Florida back up to speed in short time, competing for SEC and national championships year in and year out.

It will be a case of master vs. student in the toughest league in college football.

And while Alabama and Florida won’t meet in the regular season for another seven years, it looks like a safe bet to say that they’ll see each other before that in the SEC Championship Game.

That could just be what the Alabama-Florida rivalry needs to rise to the level at which it once stood.

McElwain created almost an “Alabama lite” at Colorado State, where he coached for three years after leaving the Crimson Tide with two national championship rings.

The Rams ran a similar offense as Alabama did—a one-back, power run base that works out to play action and short throws from there. He even brought former Alabama running back Dee Hart with him, who revitalized his career, rushing for 1,254 yards and 16 touchdowns this season.

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Colorado State went from winning four games in his first year there to 10 this year, with the possibility of one more coming in a bowl game. It was a remarkable turnaround for the coach who studied under the best.

“I did watch one game. I think it was the Colorado game early in the year, and Dee Hart played fabulous in the game,” Saban said earlier this season. “Mac’s a great coach, did a great job for us and he’s obviously done a great job for them. I don’t get to watch their games much because of our games and all that type stuff. But I always check the scores of all the guys. (Sports Information Director) Jeff (Purinton) gives me the scores of all the guys after our games that have worked for us before and how they did that particular day. We’re really, really excited that Colorado State is having a great year and Dee Hart’s doing well for them, and Jim McElwain is doing a fantastic job there.”

Now, Saban’s protege of sorts is in his own league.

Saban on Jim McElwain getting the Florida job: “It’s a fantastic opportunity for Mac. He did a really great job for us.”

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) December 5, 2014

With the success McElwain has had in his career, there’s no reason to think he won’t raise Florida to the level it has seen in the past under Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier. The Florida of powerful offenses. The Florida of stifling defenses.

And the Florida that has played some classic games against Alabama.

It started in 1992, with the inaugural SEC Championship. Antonio Langham returned an interception for a touchdown late in the game, a play ESPN would later dub “The Play That Changed College Football.”

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

The Crimson Tide and Gators met five times in the SEC Championship Game in the 1990s, with Alabama winning two and Florida taking three.

Things really ramped up late in the 2000s, again in Atlanta.

The pair met back-to-back in 2008 and 2009, with Florida winning the first and Alabama getting revenge the second year. Both teams went on to win national titles in those respective years.

It makes sense that they would meet so often in the SEC Championship Game. Alabama and Florida are both the powerhouses of their divisions. It made for an entertaining inter-divisional rivalry between two teams that don’t necessarily play every year.

The Crimson Tide will have been back to Atlanta twice since those two meetings after Saturday. The Gators have yet to make a return trip.

But with McElwain in place, that should change quickly. And if Alabama keeps up its streak, the two are bound to meet again. And restore a great college football rivalry back to its glory.

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

The pair faced each other two years ago in Missouri’s first year in the SEC and are both veterans of the profession. But their relationship goes back further. Much further.

Saban and Pinkel share similar beginnings and a common past. They both point to the same coach as a mentor, from whom their philosophies and principles originated.

When former Kent State and Washington coach Don James died a little over a year ago on October 20, 2013, each coach lost a little piece of his past and a trusted friend.

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

And when Alabama and Missouri meet in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, it will be a coaching matchup years in the making. The two have met before but never on a stage this big or with stakes so high.

“We probably all have three or four really significant people in our life that you say that having a relationship with this person really impacted the direction of my life, the quality of my life, a lot of the personal decisions that I made and philosophically the way you live your life, the way you do your job. All kinds of things get affected by those people. Don James was certainly one of those people for me,” Saban said last year shortly after James’ death.

“I have as much respect for him as a person and as a coach, the job that he did, the organization that he had. To this day, a lot of the things that I learned being a graduate assistant for him are still things that we implement in our program philosophically.”

James was hired by Kent State in 1971, when Saban was a senior defensive back and Pinkel a sophomore tight end.

When Saban graduated, he didn’t know what he wanted to do with the next chapter of his life. But his new wife, Terry, still had a year left of school.

James asked Saban if he wanted a position as a graduate assistant. Saban had never thought about coaching before and didn’t really want to go to grad school, but he gave it a shot anyway.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

“I never really wanted to be a coach,” Saban said. “I really liked it. I have thanked Coach James many, many times for inspiring me into the opportunity to do it; also [for] a lot of the lessons that I learned from him starting out as a young coach.”

Saban ended up spending three seasons as a graduate assistant under James. When James left to be the head coach at Washington, Saban was promoted to defensive assistant and thus began one of the most successful coaching tenures in college football history’s career—with James’ fingerprints all over it.

“It starts with how we recruit players, how we evaluate players, character and attitude, how those things sort of play into it, how you sort of try to find out those things about players so you get the kind of guys that are a good fit for your program. That was a big thing that Don always emphasized,” Saban said.

“There’s quite a bit of stuff. Don was one of the best coaches, to me, of all time. He was my coach, had a great impact on my life. I certainly appreciate him more than anyone could know for the start that he sort of inspired me to have as a coach.

“A lot of his influences really affected our coaching career.”

Pinkel spent a little bit more time in James’ tutelage.

He played his last three years under James and then was also retained as a graduate assistant. Pinkel followed James to Washington, where he was a tight ends coach for a year. After a two-year stint at Bowling Green, Pinkel and James were reunited at Washington.

JAMES A. FINLEY/Associated Press

Gary Pinkel when he was hired at Missouri

Pinkel was James’ wide receivers coach for five years and was promoted to offensive coordinator for seven more. In 1991 he got his first head coaching job at Toledo, where he stayed until he was hired at Missouri in 2001.

“I guess the thing that Coach James was, he was an organizational genius,” Pinkel said. “The detail of organizing every little tiny aspect of your football program, having a plan in place for everything, evaluate everything you do after you do it. I’ve been a head coach for 24 years now. We have an infrastructure in place.

“I would say that in itself is probably as important as anything I’ve done, I’ve learned from him; not only having this detailed infrastructure, but constantly evaluate yourself to make yourself better and to learn, in everything we do. Those things are very invaluable to me as a head coach and our organization.”

If you notice similar threads in Saban and Pinkel’s coaching philosophy, that’s not a coincidence. That attention to detail, CEO-like mentality, constant thoughts of improving: Those were all James staples that were passed down to his coaching disciples.

“They’re both like sons,” James told The Columbia Tribune’s Dave Matter in 2012 before Alabama played Missouri that year. “You follow them, you cheer for them. But I don’t know what to do this week.”

It’s safe to say he would have similar feelings this week, when so much more is on the line.

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

That’s the journey Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has embarked on this year.

The former USC and Tennessee head coach took over the Alabama offense under a cloud of doubt.

“Is he really a good offensive mind?”

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin

“Can his personalty mesh with that of head coach Nick Saban?”

“Will his system work with Alabama’s personnel?”

The answer to all of those questions is an emphatic “yes,” as the Crimson Tide finished the season 11-1 with the second-best offense in the conference (489.3 yards per game), the SEC West crown in hand and a No. 1 seed in the inaugural College Football Playoff within reach.

Nobody expected Blake Sims to be Kiffin’s quarterback this year. It was supposed to be Jake Coker. But all the redshirt senior Sims has done is complete 63.1 percent of his passes (207 of 328) for 2,988 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven picks. He finished the season as the most efficient passer in the nation (159.91) and seventh in the nation.

Essentially, he turned into a game manager who would impress even former Tide quarterback AJ McCarron.

Not bad for a dual-threat quarterback who, at one time, played running back for the Crimson Tide.

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Alabama OC Lane Kiffin (left) and QB Blake Sims

Kiffin came to Alabama to revitalize his career, and boy did he. The question now becomes, how long will he be there?

According to Michael Casagrande of AL.com, Kiffin is currently working on a three-year deal as Alabama’s offensive coordinator, which surely includes some provisions that would allow him to become a head coach if offered the chance.

So where would he go?

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Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin

Kiffin would seem like a fish out of water at Nebraska and Kansas, and while he’d kill it at Florida, burned bridges from his time at Tennessee likely can’t be rebuilt quickly enough for Kiffin to get the job in Gainesville.

If Michigan opens up, he could have a tremendous amount of success there. Like Nebraska and Kansas, though, the personalities may not mesh well between Kiffin and the higher-ups in Ann Arbor.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin

The openings that are out there now and could pop up this week don’t scream Kiffin, so Alabama might luck out and get to keep its suddenly hot offensive coordinator for another year.

The wild card, though, is Miami.

The Hurricanes sputtered down the stretch, losing their final three games to close the season 6-6 and fifth in the ACC Coastal division—one of the worst divisions in FBS. Head coach Al Golden has been in Coral Gables for four seasons, posting a 28-21 overall record and a 16-16 record within the division.

As Luke Stampini of 247Sports.com notes, his resume is comparable to another former coach in the Sunshine State:

Will Muschamp & Al Golden both came to Florida & Miami in 2011. Both have a 28-21 record since. #Gators #TheU

— Luke Stampini (@LukeStampini) November 30, 2014

Golden is likely safe this offseason but will enter 2015 on one of the hottest seats in America.

Should Miami head coach Al Golden be fired?

The Miami job is one that screams “Kiffin.”

He’s an offensive coach who can boost a Hurricanes’ offense that finished the regular season ranked 48th (431.0 yards per game), proved that he can adjust his system to the players on the roster and would set the recruiting trail ablaze in talent-rich South Florida.

One more year of success at Alabama would work wonders for Kiffin’s job prospects. He’ll have to rebuild with a new quarterback and likely without junior wide receiver Amari Cooper and T.J. Yeldon, both of whom are eligible for the NFL draft.

If he can do it, he’d make himself very attractive to potential suitors, one of which could be Miami.

Wade Payne/Associated Press

Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.

Breaking Bad won the 2014 Emmy Award for “Best Drama Series,” even though the best drama series in America is known as “the college football regular season.”

If more drama breaks out over championship weekend, Alabama would prefer not to be nominated.

The Crimson Tide enter the SEC Championship Game with the No. 1 ranking attached to their name, an SEC title in their sights and the top seed in the inaugural College Football Playoff within their reach.

SEC East champion Missouri again came out of nowhere in 2014 to claim its second straight division title and will enter the Georgia Dome riding a wave of momentum generated from last weekend’s 21-14 win over Arkansas in Columbia.

“Coach [Gary] Pinkel, my old teammate, has done a fantastic job,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said on Sunday. “They have a very good team. It’s going to be a real challenge for our team.”

If it’s too much of a challenge and Missouri—a two-touchdown underdog as of Monday, according to OddsShark.com—springs the upset, what happens to Alabama?

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

The primary problem for the Crimson Tide would be No. 14 Missouri.

Sure, the Tigers have a loss to woeful Indiana on their resume, but a conference championship and a head-to-head victory over the Crimson Tide on championship weekend would relegate Saban’s crew behind Pinkel’s in the College Football Playoff pecking order.

Both programs would need a ton of help, and several dominoes around the country would need to fall for the Tide to get in position to make the bracket.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Forget the Pac-12 Championship Game, because regardless of what happens at Levi’s Stadium, if Missouri wins the SEC title, the Pac-12 winner will be above both SEC contenders. Oregon would be a no-brainer, and if the Ducks win on Friday night and Alabama loses, they’ll likely be the top seed. If Arizona springs the upset, it will have two wins over Oregon on its resume, and that’ll be too much for the committee to ignore.

At that point, the Crimson Tide would need three upsets to happen out of the four biggest games of the final weekend of the season.

No. 9 Kansas State at No. 5 Baylor

No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 12 Georgia Tech

Iowa State at No. 5 TCU

No. 11 Wisconsin vs. No. 6 Ohio State

If three of those four games are upsets, Missouri would probably jump the winners and Alabama will likely stay ahead of those winners as well. Would Kansas State, Georgia Tech and Wisconsin have championships to boast to the committee? Yep, and that matters.

Will Alabama make the playoff even if it loses to Missouri?

That might not be enough to get in over a high-profile program like Alabama, though.

At that point, you’d be looking at a playoff that includes the Pac-12 champion, the one team of the four listed that doesn’t fall on the final weekend of the year, Missouri and Alabama.

That’d be the only path, and even that path would be littered with multiple-loss teams with conference championships in their back pockets, something that Alabama wouldn’t have if it loses to Missouri.

So Crimson Tide fans, for insurance purposes, you might want to root for more chaos this weekend in places other than the Georgia Dome. If contenders fall, it’d make the Crimson Tide’s path to a national title a beat easier and keep the door open if Missouri’s magical run continues.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.

SEC schools littered the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings during the season.

When the dust settled, though, only one remains alive as we head into championship weekend.

Goliath.

Alabama earned a trip to Atlanta before even taking the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, as No. 4 Mississippi State fell on the road to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. When it took the field in the Iron Bowl against Auburn, it made a statement.

A bold one.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Alabama RB Derrick Henry (left) and WR Amari Cooper (right)

This is an Alabama team that, for the most part, hadn’t been winning pretty this year. Sure, there was the 59-0 win against Texas A&M, but the one-point victory over 6-6 Arkansas, an overtime win over an LSU team whose offense was more myth than reality and a 10-point victory over West Virginia that saw the Tide secondary get torched by quarterback Clint Trickett and wide receiver Kevin White.

We knew they could win sloppy and win blowouts, but could the Crimson Tide win a shootout?

The 55-44 win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl answered that question with an emphatic “yes.”

On the brink of being benched following three interceptions, quarterback Blake Sims responded in the second half, throwing for 312 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Tide out of the abyss and into the Georgia Dome with enough momentum to cover Stone Mountain.

Helping lead that charge was wide receiver Amari Cooper, who finished the day with 224 receiving yards and three touchdowns in an epic Iron Bowl performance for the ages.

With Oregon surging, it appears the Crimson Tide have done enough to fend off the Ducks in the race for the No. 1 seed, as Stewart Mandel of FoxSports.com notes:

Alabama is the SEC’s only shot to win the College Football Playoff, but that’s just fine.

This is a team that can do it all.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Alabama S Landon Collins

Can in get into and win an old-fashioned slugfest that’s played inside of a phone booth? Yep, it did it in Fayetteville. Can it win on the road in clutch moments? Yep, it did that in Baton Rouge. Can it dominate? It’s done that consistently throughout the season. Can it open things up when the moment is right? It did that Saturday night.

Alabama is the most complete team in college football, and it has veterans on the roster like Cooper, running back T.J. Yeldon and safety Landon Collins who have already been on—and succeeded on—the big stage.

Will Alabama be the No. 1 seed in the CFP?

It wasn’t always pretty in Tuscaloosa this year. In fact, at times, it was sloppy.

That’s ok.

Alabama has learned on the fly, is hot at the right time and, if it beats Missouri on Saturday afternoon, will enter the postseason as the unquestioned favorite to win the national title.

The SEC is riding a 900-pound gorilla into the College Football Playoff, and that gorilla can sprint if it needs to.

I’m sure the SEC office in Birmingham will take quality over quantity every day of the week.

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Alabama QB Blake Sims

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.

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Crimson Quotations

“The old lessons (work, self-discipline, sacrifice, teamwork, fighting to achieve) aren't being taught by many people other than football coaches these days. The football coach has a captive audience and can teach these lessons because the communication lines between himself and his players are more wide open than between kids and parents. We better teach these lessons or else the country's future population will be made up of a majority of crooks, drug addicts, or people on relief.”